Customer Reviews

Recruited (Alias S.)

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Alias Recruited is an excellent beginning for the Alias series. This book gives insight into the life of Sydney Bristow before she finds out the truth about SD-6 and joins the CIA as a double agent. In the book, Sydney is a college student studying to be a teacher like her late mother. She is smart and studious, but is shy and doesn't have any luck on the dating scene. Her only close friend is her outgoing roommate Francie. Her father has always been distant. She feels like she doesn't belong and she can't do anything right. That soon changes when she is recruited by an organization that says they are the CIA. She finally excels at something and finds a place where she belongs. This book focuses on her life in college, her recruitment into SD-6, and her first 6 months in SD-6. It also introduces the characters of Francie, Noah Hicks, Sloane, and Jack Bristow. It is a must read for any fan of Alias.

Sydney Bristow has finally entered college. Reserved and a book worm, she hopes to find independence in the academic setting. But making friends and finding a good job isn't all it's cracked up to be. She's getting discouraged when her life changes forever.

One day, a stranger offers her a job as an agent for SD-6, a covert branch of the CIA. Once her training begins, a new world opens up to her. But is she really capable of fitting in to this new world?

As a diehard fan of the TV show, I had to read this book. I was very impressed by it. Even though fans already know the basics of what is presented here, the author still manages to make it interesting. I had a hard time putting it down, dying to know what happened next. Furthermore, the author maintains continuity with the show for even small details, which is great fun for fans. The characters read like they sound on TV, and I was also impressed by the author's use of the cast of characters. Not all the characters from the show appear in this book or play major roles, which perfectly fits the show's timeline.

My only complaint is that the first chapter spends a bit too long giving us the background on Syd we know from the show without developing this novel's plot. Overall, it's a fast, entertaining read that will please fans of the series. I'm looking forward to future prequel novels.

I love the show Alias and had hoped the books would fill in some holes about Sydney's past, her recruitment, etc. The books do provide some details but the books stay pretty general. It's obvious they cannot provide too much detail or it might conflict with the writing for the show (which frequently draws from the past to explain the present) The books focus on getting to know Sloane, her strained relationship with her dad, etc. The writing is pretty bland--this is one situation where the show is BETTER than the book. My final irritation with the books (and I've read several) is that they tend make Sydney look dumb and naive. She will "save the day" and then we the reader see the final "secret email" proving she helped the bad guy, etc. She comes off looking really dumb. Read the books if you must but get them from the library....

This book answers the how, where and why questions of Sydney's recruitment into SD-6, so is great backstory for hard core Alias fans like myself. The writing was ok, but could be better, and would probably not be of any interest to those who are not fans of the TV series. I was disappointed that the book did not go into what is alluded to in later installments, that Sydney had know Arvin Sloan before this meeting.

I didn't know what to expect from this book. I was pleasantly surprised to find a light but enjoyable read about how Sydney got started in the biz. It covers a lot of time, but it doesn't get bogged down with Sydney's training in KRAVMAGA fighting or her undercover training. Instead we see her BEFORE she gets recruited, then a glimpse of her burning up the charts as the most gifted recruit they've ever had, and then her first (sort of) mission. What impressed me the most was how dead-on the writer is at writing Sydney. I could just see her in my mind saying and doing all those things. The parts with Francie were fantastic and made miss the real Francie on the show even more. Since this had to develop the HOW and WHY she got started, it isn't as actionpacked as the other books (I read them backwards, so sue me). BUT I was amazed at how much I enjoyed it nonetheless. Lets face it, if you want non stop action watch the show. The books should (and this one really does)let us see her inner thoughts and fears.

When I saw that this book was on the shelves or the catalog (in this case) I flipped. I am literaly obsessed with the show and I had to have this book. It was the prequel. For those of you who have no idea on what I am talking about, it is ALIAS. ALIAS is the hit new drama nominated for 11 emmys, including Best Leading Actress In A Drama , Best Supporting Actor In A Drama, and Best Writing For a Drama. It airs on Sundays, 9pm, on ABC. With one episode, I guarrentee that you will be attached, and it is the same with the book. It goes through Sydney's (main character) life before she was recruited to become an agent at a secret organization called SD-6. It is great if you are new to the show and even better if you are already hooked. I urge you to run, not walk to the nearest bookstore, which would be here at Amazon.com and buy it. You will love it.

This book is a must for any Alias fan. It details how Sydney became a part of SD-6. The book is very well written with alot of plot movement. Many questions from the show are answered and it is nice to see how Sydney's life developed. The best part of the book is seeing Sydney's transformation from insecure college student to a confident agent.

Well, no, I can't go that far, because I'm a huge Alias fan. But I have to say I was pretty disappointed to find this book in my local bookstore's Children's Section -- and to find that the writing made it clear why the book was on those shelves and not upstairs alongside the adult thrillers.

Folks at Bantam, come on! This is an adult show! Let's give the print tie-ins some adult writing, please. The show deserves better.

Not that this is a bad book, by any means. It's just definitely geared for the teenage girl. At times I felt like I was reading an update of Nancy Drew. Syd may be a bit innocent at times, but she aint this naive.

I was a big fan as a child of The Man from UNCLE television show, and after several decades of craving that kind of spy fix on television, Alias came along and finally did it for me. Intelligent writing, complicated plots, complex characters. Even some tongue-in-cheek humor in the right places. Imagine my excitement then to find out about a print tie-in series. Just like, or so I thought, when Ace Paperbacks came out with the Man from Uncle tie-ins. Those were adult books written for kids, odd as it may sound, but that only meant that the writers and producers of the show were not writing down to its fans. I wish the Alias people would take that example to heart.

That said, I had to have this book, and I'm not sorry I bought it. For the adult reader, it's a fast read, and entertaining in spots, if you can get past the condescending "teen" references and voice that I suspect even a teenaged reader would find grating.

If nothing else, this could become a collector's item. Whos knows. Someday, like those Ace paperbacks I treasure, this book may be even be worth at least ten times its cover price

When it comes to my favorite tv shows, I'm not really that into novelizations or prequels written by third parties - rarely do they live up to the standards set by the series' writers and production crews. Even so, when I spotted an audiobook version of ALIAS: RECRUITED at a garage sale, I decided to give it a try.

As you can probably surmise, ALIAS: RECRUITED is a prequel to ALIAS - essentially, the novel is author Lynn Mason's imagining of how Sydney came to work for SD-6. The story takes place during Syd's freshman year in college, which finds her a shy, nervous wreck. By school year's end, she's been recruited by SD-6, trained in Krav Maga and weaponry, worked her way up from a desk job to field work, successfully completed her first mission, even killing a man - and spurned the hot guy from her English class who spurned her back in September. All in just 192 pages (or two short CDs)!

Overall, the writing is so-so. The book's Amazon listing says that it's for grades 8 and up, which might explain some of the juvenile focus on hot dudez (as mentioned above). In addition to the Beverley Hills 90210-like college scenarios, I found Mason's portrait of a younger, less self-assured Sydney to be a stretch - an unbelievable stretch. College freshman Sydney has never dated, never had a boyfriend, is in fact an utter tool around guys, and seems to have no social skills whatsoever. While this is attributed to the stress of losing her mother at a young age, I don't buy it. Certainly, I agree that absentee father Jack Bristow might have deflated her self-esteem - and the loss of Laura/Irina only added to Sydney's stress - but she's also smart (a genius, actually), athletic, and beautiful. She'd be able to get a date wearing nothing but a potato sack and speaking in tongues. I understand why Mason painted such a sorry picture of young Syd - in order to contrast her with secret agent Syd, thus illustrating the changes she undergoes under the tutelage of SD-6 - but still, the whole thing comes off as hackneyed. Meh.

I probably wouldn't have wasted my time with ALIAS: RECRUITED had I not been able to find an audio version of the book. It's a fun enough listen - it made my vacuuming fly by, at least. My only complaint with the audiobook is that narrator Amanda Foreman's Francie imitation makes Francie sound like an annoying, idiotic Valley Girl. Seriously, you wonder why Syd would hang out with such a ditz. Ditto the college-age guys - Foreman tries to masculinize her voice, but she just sounds like a dumb surfer, or an even dumber Valley Dude. Quite annoying.

I probably won't go out of my way to buy any of the other prequels on CD, but at its best, ALIAS: RECRUITED made me want to break out Season 1 on DVD.

Alias Recruited, by Lynn Mason and based on the smash TV series by J.J. Abrams, was a sensational book.
The Book not only answered questions that might have ever confused the fans of the TV series, but also opened the fans to a new world. Fans were used to watching the TV show, but are now able to read about their favorite characters.
This book, a prequel to the show, brings the fans of the show into the mind of Sydney Bristow, the main character. There have been many people who have wondered what was going on with Sydney, all anyone ever saw was her character in situations, and they never got to get deep into her thoughts. The book follows Sydney through her training and to her first days as an operative.
I highly recommend this book to any fan of the TV show. You get to go where the show never had.